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the next Xbox is planned to be released in late 2026.

RickMasters

Member
You know… I’m starting to think their is weight behind the ARM rumours. MS just rolled out their first custom server CPU with ARM….. seems like ARM surface laptops are inbound this year….. Xbox could be next to get a custom ARM CPU. Could be very interesting. Especially if the steam side loading stuff is true….. that would be very intriguing. And remember the surface team is designing the next Xbox.



Of course im gonna get one. I’m still passed at MS for arcane and tango…. I’ll never forgive them for those two. But I do have damn near 900 Xbox digital games spanning back to the first Xbox ( I bought all the Star Wars games ever made since the OG Xbox just because I could…. Doubt I’ll ever play them though… sorry KOTOR!) and I’m gonna want what whatever they do next to play all those games.


So now I’m really gonna play my star field playthrough off till next year. And just about any other game with a dodgy frame rate 🫤😅😅


I take back what I said the other day in the “wil you still invest in Xbox thread” still my main platform. Plus I love that assymetrical thumb stick layout. Even if Xbox always has the worst D pad for fighting games. But that’s why we have the 8bit do Saturn style pad for fighting games….. even anybody disagrees with my opinion I’m playing tekken, while listening to Keith sweat, right now. Come and get slapped up, innit?
 

RickMasters

Member
This gen has been the worst gen in forever, there are no games that interests me. I think the only games i have bought are games that are multiplatform. (baring the switch)

What possibly could next gen offer me other than more fidelity leading to even more dev time and safer games?
I just been playing games from the 90s mostly. Especially Japanese games. Just takes me back to my youth, I guess. Your name reminds me that I would kill to have my two saturns back with all those games I sold to CEX way back in 2003. Winner stays on, on Marvel vs capcom with the ram cart? King of fighters 98…. Panzer dragoon RPG. Grandia…fucking guardian heroes and sillhouette mirage…. Man….. jeez!…. they don’t make them like that no more. 😩😔
 

RickMasters

Member
Not necessarily.

It's quite possible that Sony declines to give MS/Activision PS6 devkits for obvious reasons; until it's too late for Activision to ready a PS6 port for launch.


At this point MS are the biggest 3p publisher on Playstation with the largest selling game on PS, in the form of COD. I doubt sony would do that. Why would Sony cut off their nose to spite their face? Money is money 🤷🏾‍♂️
 

RickMasters

Member
I find this strange. To me it seems that MS are going to transition to a Windows PC Box, and Xbox is going to disappear.

My best guess would be that they have been working on a compatibility layer Xbox to PC, in order to be able to run Xbox games on a PC architecture. Shouldn't be that hard, at least for One/Series.

Their next console will be a Windows PC Box with decent specs and that compatibility layer optimized for it to transition existing users while retaining their games. Standard PC users will be able to use that compatibility layer too if they match the required specs, maybe locked behind some Game Pass tier.

This will basically merge Xbox and PC for MS, and you will end up with a platform that has (close to) ALL the games, which includes Sony PC ports lol.

MS will push Game Pass and all their games on PC of course, and will also try to do the exact same thing on all other platforms.

This is my best guess in any case. And why I am not expecting a new "Xbox" but something called differently. Late 2026 does sound a bit far though, it is going to be pretty rough if this is true.
I agree with aloft of what you said. But I where I disagree is the idea of the Xbox branding going away. Their box will alway bare that name in whatever form it is. One things for sure. I don’t think it will be a console in the traditional sense. Between the ARM talk and their double speak…. And as an Xbox owner…. Yeah I’m curious.
 
I just been playing games from the 90s mostly. Especially Japanese games. Just takes me back to my youth, I guess. Your name reminds me that I would kill to have my two saturns back with all those games I sold to CEX way back in 2003. Winner stays on, on Marvel vs capcom with the ram cart? King of fighters 98…. Panzer dragoon RPG. Grandia…fucking guardian heroes and sillhouette mirage…. Man….. jeez!…. they don’t make them like that no more. 😩😔

Also been playing a lot of older games, 360 games on my series x. GOG games on my PC and some PS2, having a blast when i sit down and play. easy to pick up and put down, as it should be!
 

RickMasters

Member
You mean SteamXbox (partnership)


A box that unifies both my accounts in one box. Now that’s forward thinking. It’s what I’m hoping for.

I’m imaging something that’s somewhere between a steam box and a mac studio interms of design. Somewhat modular in design so it can be upgraded to some degree. Leaning back to its PC side. And An evolved Xbox OS with some level of windows functionality ( I wouldnt mind being able to run cubase or FL studio on it! In between bouts of halo! 😁). And switching between Xbox and steam needs to be seamless. I should be able to view them as one library.
 

DKPOWPOW

Member
This sounds like an awful idea. So maybe it's true considering the state of Xbox recently.

I mean, they pulled a miracle with the 360 launching a year before Nintendo and Sony. Going from underdog to being the market leader for most the generation (vs PS3).

But I can't see them doing that again, they have lost complete focus. The 360 succeeded because of GAMES.

It had a solid launch with Call of Duty 2, Perfect Dark Zero (yes I know it sucked but there was hype), Condemned, Dead or Alive 4 and others.

It followed thru on that launch with Oblivion, Ghost Recon and Rainbow 6 Vegas in March. 3 bad ass games in a few short months after launch, plus (bonus) a great version of Burnout Revenge.

Then summer months you got Dead Rising and Saints Row. Follow that up with F.EA.R. and of course, Gears of War.

Right there is 10 games, not including all the other sports games and ports it got (among other stuff) it had in 1 year.

And that 1 year, Sony stumbled out of the gates with Crabs and people were beating up Grandma's for a Wii.

IN 2026...

The PS5 isn't going away. And the PS6 is not coming out. Sony will be in a transition, but will they actually be weak? I doubt it, though I find the idea of a PS5Pro to be foolish.

The Switch 2, providing Nintendo doesn't completely fuck this up... Should be a monster. If they are in any way trying to mimic the Switch's game plan...

You are seeing Smash Bros. and Pokemon that year. Plus whatever else is up the sleeve. Lord knows the launch year 2025 should slap. But can they follow thru?

Perhaps M$ knows something we don't, which is the only reason. Only reason it would make sense to launch in 2026. They are a publisher, they could be privy to things.

Maybe they are preparing for that after the smoke clears, PS5 pro comes out... Not much new, Switch 2 comes out guns blazing, but then there's a lull...

Bam, new Xbox bitches.

But like always, it's gonna take games. If there aren't any, well shit son. Why you gonna do that?
 

Radical_3d

Member
This sounds like an awful idea. So maybe it's true considering the state of Xbox recently.

I mean, they pulled a miracle with the 360 launching a year before Nintendo and Sony. Going from underdog to being the market leader for most the generation (vs PS3).

But I can't see them doing that again, they have lost complete focus. The 360 succeeded because of GAMES.

It had a solid launch with Call of Duty 2, Perfect Dark Zero (yes I know it sucked but there was hype), Condemned, Dead or Alive 4 and others.

It followed thru on that launch with Oblivion, Ghost Recon and Rainbow 6 Vegas in March. 3 bad ass games in a few short months after launch, plus (bonus) a great version of Burnout Revenge.

Then summer months you got Dead Rising and Saints Row. Follow that up with F.EA.R. and of course, Gears of War.

Right there is 10 games, not including all the other sports games and ports it got (among other stuff) it had in 1 year.

And that 1 year, Sony stumbled out of the gates with Crabs and people were beating up Grandma's for a Wii.

IN 2026...

The PS5 isn't going away. And the PS6 is not coming out. Sony will be in a transition, but will they actually be weak? I doubt it, though I find the idea of a PS5Pro to be foolish.

The Switch 2, providing Nintendo doesn't completely fuck this up... Should be a monster. If they are in any way trying to mimic the Switch's game plan...

You are seeing Smash Bros. and Pokemon that year. Plus whatever else is up the sleeve. Lord knows the launch year 2025 should slap. But can they follow thru?

Perhaps M$ knows something we don't, which is the only reason. Only reason it would make sense to launch in 2026. They are a publisher, they could be privy to things.

Maybe they are preparing for that after the smoke clears, PS5 pro comes out... Not much new, Switch 2 comes out guns blazing, but then there's a lull...

Bam, new Xbox bitches.

But like always, it's gonna take games. If there aren't any, well shit son. Why you gonna do that?
Lost Planet, Mass Effect and Bioshock were there first and best as well. That circumstance is never going to repeat itself.

Edit: oh and that RPG from that guy that made Heart of Darkness and Blood Omen: Legacy Of Kain, that ended banned from GAF XDDD Silicon Knights! Those were the guys. I don’t remember the RPG but there was a “for” or “against” campaign in GAF with a lot of funny gifs.
 
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KungFucius

King Snowflake
It's really not that hard to believe.
No shit. I don't get the skepticism. They need to do something if they want to stay relevant in the console market and releasing the next gen first helped them with the 360 so it actually even makes some sense. Probably going to be 2 SKU again. Portable (s) specced unit and more powerful console.
 

KungFucius

King Snowflake
This sounds like an awful idea. So maybe it's true considering the state of Xbox recently.

I mean, they pulled a miracle with the 360 launching a year before Nintendo and Sony. Going from underdog to being the market leader for most the generation (vs PS3).

But I can't see them doing that again, they have lost complete focus. The 360 succeeded because of GAMES.

It had a solid launch with Call of Duty 2, Perfect Dark Zero (yes I know it sucked but there was hype), Condemned, Dead or Alive 4 and others.

It followed thru on that launch with Oblivion, Ghost Recon and Rainbow 6 Vegas in March. 3 bad ass games in a few short months after launch, plus (bonus) a great version of Burnout Revenge.

Then summer months you got Dead Rising and Saints Row. Follow that up with F.EA.R. and of course, Gears of War.

Right there is 10 games, not including all the other sports games and ports it got (among other stuff) it had in 1 year.

And that 1 year, Sony stumbled out of the gates with Crabs and people were beating up Grandma's for a Wii.

IN 2026...

The PS5 isn't going away. And the PS6 is not coming out. Sony will be in a transition, but will they actually be weak? I doubt it, though I find the idea of a PS5Pro to be foolish.

The Switch 2, providing Nintendo doesn't completely fuck this up... Should be a monster. If they are in any way trying to mimic the Switch's game plan...

You are seeing Smash Bros. and Pokemon that year. Plus whatever else is up the sleeve. Lord knows the launch year 2025 should slap. But can they follow thru?

Perhaps M$ knows something we don't, which is the only reason. Only reason it would make sense to launch in 2026. They are a publisher, they could be privy to things.

Maybe they are preparing for that after the smoke clears, PS5 pro comes out... Not much new, Switch 2 comes out guns blazing, but then there's a lull...

Bam, new Xbox bitches.

But like always, it's gonna take games. If there aren't any, well shit son. Why you gonna do that?
Blah blah blah. No shit there is competition and Xbox is sucking ass now, but what does not releasing until PS6 do for them? That is the alternative isn't it? Are you suggesting they just stop trying and lay everyone off now? 6 years after the last one is not even that short of a span. Switch was just over 4 years after WiiU flopped.

In theory they should be able to launch with a few of the games they promised for Series back in 2020 that still haven't released and then show a few more games that might drop before 2030. Couple that to a portable system with shit specs and terrible battery life and they are in a great position to hype their few remaining fans up. I almost can't see them not doing this plus adding a tier to gamepass for AAA day 1. And in 2027 when PS6 is revealed to drop in 2028, they can start closing every studio that doesn't knock it out of the park on their failing platform.
 
If true ms really did held back the gen with series s. They want a clean break from that pos box that got outsold 5:1 even at a cheaper price point.
 

Audiophile

Member
I think the goal will be to launch very closely to that GTA launch window


That very well could be the price with the dockable handheld being closer to the mainstream price

Had a hilarious thought that MS would release their next super-powerful box a year after GTAVI releases on XS/PS5 and R*/T2 being R*/T2; they wouldn't even bother patching it. So it'll still be 1440p/30 on a much more powerful machine.

I'm sure MS would be on them to get patched or native version out, but I wouldn't put it past R* to just not bother. That sweet GTAVI Remastered money in ~2027-2029 might be too tempting.
 
I agree with aloft of what you said. But I where I disagree is the idea of the Xbox branding going away. Their box will alway bare that name in whatever form it is. One things for sure. I don’t think it will be a console in the traditional sense. Between the ARM talk and their double speak…. And as an Xbox owner…. Yeah I’m curious.
The fact that Spencer is the head of Microsoft Gaming is enough evidence that they are abandoning Xbox as a brand. Xbox got its name removed from multiple other parts of Microsoft gaming and now only the hardware itself is left with that name. I am not even sure why you are believing that the Xbox name is worth saving. What does it even stand for anymore?
 
The PS5 isn't going away. And the PS6 is not coming out. Sony will be in a transition, but will they actually be weak? I doubt it, though I find the idea of a PS5Pro to be foolish.
I have been playing games long enough to know that the final two years of a console's life is when the BEST games come out for it. So I am prepared to say, sight unseen, that PS5 will be much more popular right before PS6's announcement that you think. The whole point is to give the old console a good sendoff of great games, so customers can trust to buy the next console.

Microsoft's habit of abandoning their console for its next upgrade is what gave people a bad taste in their mouths.
 

Kssio_Aug

Member
Imo, this would be incredibly silly to say the least. If that's true, this gen in terms of hardware necessity feels like a farse.

Up until now pretty much everything released was cross-gen. We still don't have a release date or even an official reveal for Gears 6 and Forza Horizon 6, we don't have a Fable release date or even a gameplay reveal yet, Halo Infinite was cross-gen and a disappointment, and we don't know if we're gonna have another Halo this gen.

Since I don't care for 4k gaming I have to say that I'm actually releaved I've bought a Series S this gen for a console. When I bought it I feared it wouldn't be able to handle the entire generation, but truth is it has been handling totally fine until now.

The most interesting games in terms of technology and graphical quality, at least on Xbox, right now, are Cyberpunk and Alan Wake 2, and even then they work fairly well on the SS. We will see how it's gonna be with Hellblade 2.

This generation of hardware could endure easily another 5-6 years at least by the look of it. I think 2026 is way too soon for a new console generation.
 
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I think the product now is the Xbox Store / ecosystem, not the Xbox Series console (it's not selling anymore). So talking about it early tells existing customers that they can keep buying games on the Xbox store because it's all going to make the jump to PC. They will lose out on future Xbox console sales, but that's gone already. They're putting stuff on PS5 this year.

That's my theory anyway. Seems totally logical. If I know that in 2 years I'm getting some PC that opens up all the other stores, I'd have no regrets still buying games on Xbox and chilling for the next 2 years until then (might be sooner than that for the handheld too). Who knows. Just waiting to see what happens.

You're right, and it has been this way for some time in the form of Xbox Play Anywhere games. It takes Microsoft out of the hardware game for the most part, maintains their access to the PC market, and maintains the existing Xbox ecosystem that would be brand suicide to abandon. You can tell Microsoft predicted another distant 3rd place finish, and it's why they have positioned themselves as they have this generation with a focus on digital ownership where people can play on a platform of their choice. Of course they would prefer it to be Xbox, but they've been telling us about this again and again for years.

The only recent change is that they are also embracing their competitors' console platforms. Sure, you can buy the game on Playstation - but you'll only get access to that version of the game. Buy from Microsoft and you can play it on your first party Xbox console, any PC that runs Windows, a third party PC/Xbox console/handheld, or (preferably) use the smartphone/tablet you already own and stream it from xCloud.
 

twilo99

Member
Eh .. I think AMD has firmly entrenched itself as the GPU vendor for PS and Xbox. If they plan to keep forward compatibility with PS4/5 - XBO/Series, especially.

The compatibility is based on the CPU architecture so if they keep x86 there will be no issues with switching to an Nvidia GPU.
 
Gamers are whores.

All it would take is a new, shiny box and 6 killer games in the first 12mths and Xbox would be back in contention.
Xbox Series X couldn't even launch with a new Halo game, and the game's art was even on the box!

And you think they could have SIX killer games at launch? At least be realistic.
 

xrnzaaas

Member
I wouldn't be surprised by this. Sony will likely take the performance crown this year with the PS5 Pro model, so Microsoft instead of doing their own refresh might want to speed things up with the introduction of a new generation.

And what about having games to sell the new hardware? They've been forgetting that for many years, I wouldn't expect them to suddenly get smart about this.
 

Trilobit

Member
jrvVHBh.jpeg

Cocky Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony are the worst. The greater the competition the better it is for the gamer. I really hope that none of them ever leave the consol space as it would mean that the rest would start getting very lazy. As a PS5 owner I like when Sony has to struggle to keep their customers with them.
 
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adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
The compatibility is based on the CPU architecture so if they keep x86 there will be no issues with switching to an Nvidia GPU.

Hmm, good point. But I reckon GPU specific things are also a small factor, hence the really small number of OG Xbox games available for BC, cause they have to translate a whole different layer from Nvidia to AMD (?)
 
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This makes sense as multi prong strategy.

Microsoft's ambition that every device is an xbox, just like what Netflix is whether it be a PC, TV, phone, console etc

So if they release a new Xbox in 2026 and it leapfrogs the competition like what x360 did to PS3 initially, they win.

No they don't. For one the next Xbox isn't going to be a traditional console. They will probably not produce it at the massive volumes the XBO got (or Series in the first couple of years), and it'll probably be priced a bit more than a console offering similar performance. They'd probably also make an initial spec blueprint aiming for what a next-gen console would have if it were releasing in 2026, but without the typical subsidization/loss-leading model.

They also won't have any exclusives for it at launch; everything will likely be cross-gen with at least Series X.

Likewise if the new xbox sells similar units to Series consoles, but they leverage their software sales on PC Switch 2 and PS5/6 they win.

I don't think Sony or Nintendo would be so open to letting a direct competitor publish games on their ecosystem so openly, to potentially steal customers from them, if they knew that competitor were going full-tilt for yet another console.

The top brasses at MS, Sony & Nintendo probably know significantly more about the future of Xbox hardware than even Spencer/Bond/Booty, let alone us.

If their subscription services and cloud gaming users increase significantly and more users are playing through their smart phone, smart TV rumoured xbox handheld etc. they win.

Or the sub service just continues to cannibalize B2P software unit sales and revenue. Something that's already been happening.

Those rumors of COD going to Game Pass don't make sense unless there are either massive changes coming to the service (beyond just new pricing tiers), or the game's just getting a trail/demo for Game Pass (could be part of aforementioned massive changes), it gets some VOD-style rental option (ditto), or the rumor is BS. WSJ have been wrong before on gaming-related stuff.

COD is one of the few big money-makers MS have that also sells quite well on Xbox in B2P sales, not even counting the MTX revenue on top of that. Them risking that revenue for Day 1 Game Pass that could pull not just Xbox gamers but quite a few PlayStation and PC gamers as well to sub, only to then have massive churn in sub drops the following month as those same people get the game for cheap to access the MP content, is insane.

It's not difficult to see what they are trying to do, saleswise it makes a lot of sense. The reality of the situation is that Xbox has lost a lot of goodwill and trust in the brand has hit an all time low. Whether gamers will flock back to Xbox or stick with Playstation, Nintendo and PC remains to be seen.

I think it's already being seen, and we'll have more evidence with hardware sales over the next few months.

The PS6 is probably a 2027 release. I’m wondering if Microsoft is gonna end up in a Dreamcast situation… could be pretty bad for them if their next console isn’t a total home run.

Power isn't the reason Xbox consoles have been diminishing rapidly in demand.
 

THE:MILKMAN

Member
If GTA can stay on track which in no way would I hold my breath on them making their target

Plus what if this Xbox/PC is a $1000 enthusiasts "console" and is in fact still holding its own against a $500 console that comes out a year or two later?

James Harden Reaction GIF by NBA

What you thinking? A Xbox branded PC/hybrid console that MS could then licence to others to make to spec like the 3DO?
 

twilo99

Member
Hmm, good point. But I reckon GPU specific things are also a small factor, hence the really small number of OG Xbox games available for BC, cause they have to translate a whole different layer from Nvidia to AMD (?)


Mm maybe I’m not sure how important GPU specific features are to compatibility, I just know that the CPU architecture is the main thing, which is why switching to ARM would be tricky
 
So MS can't make any military shooters other than COD from now on? Doubtful, I'm sure there's a line drawn somewhere in that contract.
They can, it just cant share any assets or likeness related to COD in effort to find a loophole to exclude Playstation from any future versions of COD games while under the 10 year contract. They've already covered this during the FTC trial. Making a COD game, but calling it something different falls under the breach of contract.
 
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Mahavastu

Member
The compatibility is based on the CPU architecture so if they keep x86 there will be no issues with switching to an Nvidia GPU.
No, thats wrong
Do you know why the PC has Shader Compilation Stutters and the Consoles do not?
Right, because on the console you know which GPU you have and can compile before shipping, while on PC you must compile in runtime, because the GPUs are not hardware compatible to each other.
So if XBox would want to go with nVidia and stay compatible with the older games, they need some kind of compatibility layer.
 

Bernardougf

Gold Member
For the people saying it is a bad idea... whats the better idea ? Going neck and neck, again , for the third consecutive generation, against the 5:1 (for now, it will get worse) leader in sales ?

Iam not rooting for MS in any way shape or form, but trying something different may (huge fucking may) save them.
 
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Tchu-Espresso

likes mayo on everthing and can't dance
It’s going to sit in some halfway house in between generations.

The PS6 will absolutely trounce it, assuming it launches in 2028 on 2nm. Then again who knows, other than MS will get punished either way.
 
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Three

Member
Plus what if this Xbox/PC is a $1000 enthusiasts "console" and is in fact still holding its own against a $500 console that comes out a year or two later?

James Harden Reaction GIF by NBA
The problem with a strategy like that is the company can very easily undercut that console with the IPC gains and other improvements at a cheaper price at that later date. They can also release a more powerful one at the same price or even just turn it into bigger profits compared to the competition and have the same performance.
 

Disco Dave

Member
I have no faith in Xbox current leadership. If J Allard and Peter Moore were in charge, and they were aiming for another Xbox 360 "first to market console", I'd be excited.

Now we have Spencer, Bond and Booty.
 

Darsxx82

Member
It’s going to sit in some halfway house in between generations.

The PS6 will absolutely trounce it, assuming it launches in 2028 on 2nm. Then again who knows, other than MS will get punished either way.
Is there any ban or something that prevents MS from launching a new, more powerful hardware in 2029-2030? 🙃. I don't know, people talk as if MS couldn't launch other hardware to "compete" with PS6🤷🏻.In fact, not only compared to PS6 but as an interesting proposal or option for those looking at a PC (if that hybrid PC proposal is assumed to be true)

I perfectly see the possibility of an Xbox in 2026 that would be the XSS of this generation and another some years later that would be the XSX.

The plan is supposed to break with the generations and periodic compatible hardware like PC/iphone. Whether or time Sony releases new hardware should no longer matter to MS because times will be different and also the strategie .
 
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